Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Farseer Anastari watches over the remnants of the her kins regrouping. The campaign to return to CMT-01 has been mixed of success and failure. To avoid detection, she had to divide the forces into small pockets of strike forces and appear through webways in various strategic location in Formund. All of encounters with the Necrons near the southern hemisphere was disasters, with heavy loses, and so was the first encounter with the traitor guards of Golgothan Sturmmacht. A small pocket of Orks offer little resistance, but she suspects there will be more of the Greenskins soon. So far the most successful battle was against the Red Guards. Her group was successful in halting their advance, after a failure in negotiation, but there are smaller patrol teams of the IGs still roaming, and managed to take down some of her own patrol teams.

Now, in her 3rd week in Formund, she managed to gather the survivors and regroup them to form another strike force against the Stummacht again. This time, to hold an important area to cast a larger webway for the rest of the eldar strike force to arrive from Emiratus, where her Autarch will be joining her. This would be critical point in the strategic planning of the battles to come.

The Golgothans are detected only some few miles away and were given orders to claim the same location. The location with strong energies, ideal for both either a webway for the eldar or a warp gate for the chaos forces. The ruinous forces intends to increase their presence in Formund, and the Farseer will make sure they do not succeed. She wished the news from her rangers would come a little later as the gathering of her forces can’t seem to be quick enough to organize a concentrated force to take down the traitor guards in a quick and hard manner. She could feel that this is definitely a battle that will see much of bloodshed on both sides.

Without hesitation, she send of her jetbikes to slow down the advance of the traitor guards along with a Prism and a group of Dire Avengers and a Falcon. Soon she will be joining the battle herself.

Anastari remembers well the first battle against one what used to be the best Emperor’s guardsmen. She had paid a heavy price with the lost of another Farseer and many of her kins, and losing the first battle. It is a pity these fine guardsmen have turned towards the Dark Gods, for they will face the wrath of Kaine today, quickening their journey to feed their souls to the dark gods.

From a distance, she could see the guardsmen on foot setting up the defensive lines around the objective. Already the traitor Mon Keighs has occupied the areas.

The 2 squads of jet-bikes took cover along the eastern flank after deployment. A hellhound and 2 sentinels can be seen leading the traitor guards, coming from the western flank and quickly occupied the fortress ruins, ready to take down any eldars dare to come close to the objective. Unlike the traitor guards which leaves a trail of decay and malice in their path, a fire prism arrived with the earth untouched at the opposite direction, ready to face the hellhound and the sentinels head-on. A falcon tank and a wave serpent was deployed in between the jetbike squads ready to overwhelm the traitors on the eastern flank.

One of the jetbike squad opens fire its shuriken cannons and tries to trim down the lascannon team, only to be taken down entirely by the demolisher tank and its heavy bolters in a spectacular fashion! Another leman russ battle tank was deployed next to it and starts to fire its shells on the falcon. The lascannon heavy weapon teams and the leman russ tanks started to concentrate fire on the western flank eldar units, only to shake the crews of the skimmer tank and managed to destroy the 1st wave serpent. All the dire avengers were forced to disembark with one casualty. The jetbikes keep pumping shurikens into the heavy weapon team and managed to annihilate them, while using their speed to take cover from enemy fire.

On the western flank, the prism failed to do any significant damage to the hellhound and the sentinels. The Dark Gods had bestowed their unholy blessings on the crude vehicles! This will have a great repercussion in the later stage. However the holofield has proved its worth and the intense firepower forces the fire prism to take cover behind some terrain, encroaching into the eastern flank.

The Farseer finally joined the fray along with a second wave serpent with another squad of dire avengers. With great speed and agility, she managed to get near the falcon, deploying the fire dragon squads. The melta guns from these well-trained aspect warriors made short work of the massive battle tank. The farseer was there to ensure the accuracy of the dragons and guarantees the destruction of the leman russ. The demolisher tank was stunned by the farseer’ signing spear, spared the eldars from the mighty gun in the next turned.

The demolisher tank moves forward away from the Fire Dragon’s breath and puffs out the smoke grenades. All the eldar unit ignores the metal behemoth this round. The forced disembarked dire avengers squad wiped the dust of their shoulders gathered their courage and moved into range to pump out shuriken and emptied their magazine using the Exarch’s Bladestorm, almost took out an entire advancing angry charging guardsmen, forcing a morale failure. The second wave serpent turbo boosted in a hazy red ghost, getting closer to the western flank and bracing itself for the firepower it is about to face.

In the 2 turns, the fire dragons managed to embarked and disembarked again to do its melta magic on the demolisher tank, repeating their success, again this time with the Farseer’s Guide. The 2nd wave serpent moved into the enemy strong hold area and started to fire its shuriken cannons, tying hard to cut down more guardsmen. The second dire avenger squad, which has disembarked earlier, did another bladestorm, annihilating another squad of traitor guards, screaming in agony as they were approaching from the west flank. In the meantime, the first dire avenger squad fleeting towards the objective, with inhuman speed, ready to put its weight into claiming it.

The sentinels and the ever-dedicated heavy weapon squad from the opposite flank was trying to bring down the skimmer tanks but to no avail. The fire prism pops out of cover and further reduces the numbers of the heavy weapon squad, taking cover in the fortress ruins. One of the officers managed to pass leadership test and charged towards the 2nd Dire Avenger squad, heroically cuts down 3 DA warriors before he goes down in glory! It takes a great number of the dedicated aspect warriors to tame the fury of this lost soul.

By turn 6, the eldars took a chance and brings in all the skimmers (the prism, falcon and the rest of the bikes) to the centre of the table along with the jebikes to claim the objective. It was a risky move as Ian’s next few rolls will have the game extended to turn 9! The Dark Gods wanted more blood!

The first dire avenger squad advancing towards the objective and annihilated another squad of guardsmen in an array of shuriken, darkening the sky! In return, they were almost wiped out and failed leadership by the unexpected flamer from the hellhound across the battlefield, leaving their souls trapped in their spirit stones. The second avenger squad managed to reduce another guardsmen squad number taking cover behind the fortress. They would later make the run and fleet and contributed as a scoring unit, with the angry charging image of the Traitor Officer still fresh in their minds.

Having taking the risk of claiming the objective, the eldars are exposing themselves to concentrated fire in the next few extended turns. So, bracing themselves, a wave serpent and the falcon was destroyed from melta and lascannon fire (Ian rolled a double 6s, well done, lad!), leaving skimmer crashing elegantly in the centre of the table. The Fire Prism persevered and survived almost all the attacks, thanks to the unique technology of the holo-field. The Farseer in her jet-bike, snipes behind the cover and managed to disable, immobilized one sentinel while disarming the other and destroyed the hellhound with her singing spear in the 3 extended turns, somehow the stubborn guards has to pay the price too! The last jetbike squad was locked in combat with 2 squads of guardsmen, destroying one squad of guardsmen, while survived until one last bike at the end of the game still locked in combat with the second guardsmen squad, like a mounted knight towering a mob of flesheaters!

By the end of turn 9, it was a quite a sight with the wreckage of vehicles and blood trailing from the western flank to the east, indicating the progress of the battle and and even larger wreckage near the objective, signs of a desperate struggle of both sides in the centre of the table. If you had come in and watched the game at the last turn, you may be able to guess and imagine the concentration and the trail of action from one side of the table to the other.

Farseer Anastari watches the traitor guards retreating from their stronghold. The price to pay to control this objective is just too great for her to accept. Surely they have won the bloody battle, but they have pleased the Dark Gods today. Remaining on her jetbike, she could only look at the destruction resulted from the stubborn traitor guards. Ko’el, pulls over his bike next to the Farseer, waiting for the right moment to speak.

“We have collected all the spirit stones from the fallen, my lady” he reports.

“Make sure the wounded are tended and prepare to regroup and reorganize the battle squads,” the farseer instructed “ tell me, Ko’el, do you think is all this worth it?”

“My lady, I believe your guidance will lead us to victory and salvation, as it has today” reply the guardian “the bonesingers are ready for your instruction to erect the warp gate,” Ko’el knew that that is all that needs to be said and left the Farseer to her thoughts.

From the bottom of the valley and near the wreckage, the survivors of the eldar strike force could see the elegance and the majestic presence of their leader. She is both a sight to behold and fear on the fury that she has brought to this battlefield. What they couldn’t see, a tear she has just shed for the fallen behind the emotionless helmet.